Like A Movie
by mzdarkstar
Summary: When Taylor is betrayed by the boyfriend that she thought was The One, she didn't expect herself to fall in love again so quickly! Her happy ending is just round the corner . . . just like a movie. In response to Danny Phantom SG-1's Rylor challenge.
1. Finish the sentence

**In response to the** Rylor challenge **that** Danny Phantom SG-1** and I thought up. Well, no, it was DPSG1's idea really . . .**

**There aren't enough Rylor's in the FF World. So we thought we'd write a bunch, and who knows, maybe one day, it'll match the massive ranks of Troyella!**

**(If you want to try the challenge, go to the HSM Forums, or my author page, and look for the Games, Quests and Challenges forum. It's under the Challenge: Rylor topic.)**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. HSM belongs to Disney.**

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She really didn't want to be here.

But Taylor had promised Troy and Gabriella that she'd come with Chad. She couldn't go back on her word. What was the point?

Sharpay was strutting around the auditorium like she owned the place, and didn't say sorry to Taylor when she bumped into her, even though it was her fault.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

Taylor explained quickly, "Oh, I'm here with Chad. He's here with Troy, who's here with -"

"Look, just stay out of the way. Okay?" Sharpay snapped, her piercing brown eyes cutting through Taylor soft brown ones. She sauntered onto the stage.

Taylor sighed, and looked around for somewhere to sit. Gabriella said she had needed the bathroom, and Chad and Troy had gone to sit down, but now Troy was on his own.

Taylor huffed, and crossed her arms. They were supposed to be here helping Sharpay and Ryan! She didn't know what for, but she didn't want to hang around for nothing!

"Troy," Taylor called to him, "Where did Chad go?" Troy shrugged.

"To find Gabi, I think." he said. "Sorry Taylor. I don't know where they've got to." Troy made his way onto the stage to help Sharpay anyway.

Taylor's eyes narrowed. _What's the point in me being here then?_ she thought, ultra peeved.

Taylor whipped around, only to blindly smash into someone with piercing eyes.

It was only when she lay sprawled (and very dazed) on the floor that she realised who those eyes belonged to.

She sat up, and gazed at him apprehensively, as he got up. She knew that he was Sharpay Evans' brother, Ryan, but she didn't know much else, so she fiercely hoped he wasn't like his sister.

"Uh . . ." she figured she should say something. "I am . . . so sorry! Yeah, um, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

Ryan said quickly, "Oh no, it's all my fault. I should have been paying attention." he held out his hand, and Taylor took it.

"Okay, then. I'll let you take the blame." she joked, and Ryan laughed.

"Nice doing business with you."

"Pleasure." giggled Taylor, when she realised she still hadn't let go of his hand.

She let go, flushing, but couldn't help looking at his blue eyes, which were also slightly grey. They were almost as piercing as Sharpay's, regardless of the colour.

"Your eyes," she murmured. "They're different from -"

"I got my eyes from my Mom. Sharpay got it from my Dad." Ryan stuffed his hands into his pockets. "So tell me. Why would someone like you hang around in the auditorium?"

Taylor hesitated, wondering what to tell him. But curiosity swept thought her, so she told him what she told Sharpay, to see how alike his answer would be.

"Oh, I'm here with Chad, who's here with Troy, who's here with Gabriella, who came to help yourself and Sharpay for something."

"You're here with a lot of people!" Ryan snorted.

"Not really. Only three others."

"Yeah, but when you say it like that, sounds like quite a crew."

Taylor giggled; Ryan was just being overly silly. But she was okay with that. Hanging around with Jocks meant that when they were practicing for a game (which they were constantly doing), the atmosphere was always so serious.

"Who are you here with?" she asked.

"Sharpay. Nothing further said." he grimaced. Taylor genuinely felt sorry for him. Imagine having Sharpay for a sister!

"How come?"

"Barvarde."

"Bar – what?"

Ryan smiled. "Barvarde. It's a Youth Theatre, across the road from Pete's Pizza. You can do acting, singing or dancing club for fun, as well as other things, but you can do proper professional courses as well."

"Wow."

"Yeah. Me and Sharpay are preparing for an acting course. We'll be away all of next week."

"What? The whole week?"

"It's a proper course. You need _all_ the hours of _all_ the days of the _whole week_."

"That really is hardcore." Taylor gazed at Ryan admiringly, clearly impressed.

He was so dedicated to the Performing Arts, and really perfected his talents. What did Taylor do?

Sums.

How interesting.

"But . . . wouldn't it cost a fortune to go there?" Taylor asked, and Ryan nodded.

"Seems like Sharpay is hell bent on stripping our parents bare, so she can be the most amazing, glorious -"

"RYAN!" Sharpay screamed from the stage. "If you don't get up here _right now_ and stop talking to the Math Girl, I can GUARANTEE that you will FAIL your course!"

"I'm so sorry," Ryan apologised, and Taylor gave a weary smile. "Look, maybe we can -"

"HURRY UP!"

Ryan gave her on more apologetic look, before hurrying up to the stage.

Taylor stared after him.

She really wished that he'd finished that sentence.

**…HSM…**

Later that day, Friday afternoon, Ryan leaned against his locker, waiting for Sharpay. They were going to practice one last time for their course, but Sharpay was late. She was never one for being punctual anyway.

As Ryan sighed, he heard a familiar voice. "Hey, you."

He turned around, thinking they were talking to him, but it was Gabriella talking to Chad. "Gabi! I thought you were with Troy."

"Oh. Him." Gabriella snorted, and Chad laughed. Ryan watched, anxiously. He shouldn't be eavesdropping, but he couldn't help it.

"Are you going to go and find him?"

"No. Chad, I . . ."

Ryan didn't hear the end of that, because he was already walking away; when Chad mentioned finding Troy, Ryan thought that he should look for his nuisance of a sister that was Sharpay.

As he walked through the Science Block, he noticed how quiet it was; everyone was spending the rest of their Lunch Break elsewhere. Ryan had no idea why he was, ahem, 'looking for Sharpay' in the Science Labs, but he liked the silence.

As he drifted along he went through all the acting techniques he could remember in his head; connecting with the audience, facial expresions, loud and clear voice, body language -

"Dammit!" screamed a lone voice which was accompanied by the sound of breaking glass, making Ryan jump right out of his skin. He hurried to find the source of the noise, to see if they needed help.

"Taylor?" Ryan said tentively, and she looked up at him, flustered. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm . . ." Taylor looked down at the glass on the floor. Clear liquids seeped onto the floor, as well as a gooey mixture. "I was just making Nylon. The beaker slipped . . ."

"Don't panic - I'll help." Ryan quickly got a pair of disposable gloves and a dustpan and brush, to help clear up. "Nylon . . . isn't that the stuff you use to make tights?"

Taylor giggled. "Yeah." And she started going on about what you react with what to make it. When she'd finished, Ryan shook his head confidently, and said "Yeah."

Taylor burst out laughing. "Ryan Evans, you're a joker."

"What?"

"Your acting skills are pretty slick, but it was so obvious that you didn't have a clue in hell what I was going on about."

"Oh . . . yeah." Ryan chuckled. Taylor stared at him for quite a while after that. Ryan started getting paranoid.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Ryan joked as lightly he could manage.

Taylor said quickly, "Oh, no! No, I just can't get over your eyes."

Instantly, Taylor mentally kicked herself. Now he would think that she was a weird, psychotic science girl who checked out people's eyes.

"I mean," Taylor tried to correct herself, "It's because they're so different from Sharpay's and -"

"Taylor . . ." Ryan said softly. They both knew that she was just digging herself a deeper hole. "It's okay. I get you."

They finished clearing up in silence.

"I get it from my sister." Taylor thought, but when Ryan looked at her, she realised she'd said it aloud.

"Get what?"

"My sister has a phobia about eyes."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "In what way?"

"Apparently, she can only date guys with unusual eyes. Not brown, blue or green, but grey and hazel."

"Really?" said Ryan interestedly. Taylor grinned.

"She also likes guys who have different colour eyes. Like one blue, one brown. And she likes when their eyes colour is mixed, like half green, half brown on each eye."

"So would your sister date me?" Ryan grinned.

"Your eyes are blueish greyish, so yeah. She probably would." Taylor smiled.

_I'd date you_ _too . . ._ cackled a little, mischievous voice in her head, and Taylor was appalled that she would think something like that while she was dating Chad.

She didn't want him to miraculously guess what she was thinking, so she just started babbling, "Uh, well, we'd better – I mean, what's the time?"

"Time to go to class." Ryan smiled, as he checked his phone and exclaimed. "Woah, we must've missed the bell; class started about seven minutes ago!"

"Damn." Taylor stressed, and hurriedly collected her things and stood by the door.

"Hey, if I don't see you again today, then good luck with your course. And, um . . ."

Should she say it or not? Taylor cleared her throat.

"Look, I really liked that -"

"Taylor? Is that you?" came a voice, and Taylor immediately knew who it belonged to. She was already out the door.

Ryan faintly heard her voice, "Chad! What are you doing here? Why aren't you in class?"

"Well . . . I'm looking for you, of course, Tay!"

Ryan frowned. That didn't sound very convincing.

"Aww, my knight in shining armour."

Ryan sighed. Getting up, he left the lab, and right outside the door he spotted a familiar face. "Gabriella? What are you doing here?"

Gabriella whipped around. "Ryan? I could ask you the same question!"

Ryan bit his lip. _I was just in an empty classroom with your best friend. Don't worry, we didn't do anything,_ was the first thing that came to mind.

"Yeah, you could ask me, but I wouldn't answer." He laughed shiftily, and Gabriella gave her own awkward laugh.

"Yeah, Same here, I guess." Gabriella smiled, and as soon as she drifted away, someone else screamed down the corridor.

"RYAN! I am _so_ gonna kick your ass . . . !"

What now? Ryan swallowed and turned around. "Sharpay . . . ?"

He gave another one of those sighs, but as he followed her to the auditorium, all he could think of was what Taylor had said, or was about to say.

'_Look, I really liked that . . ._'

He really wished that she'd finished that sentence.

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**So, what did you think for the first Chappie? Hope you liked it, I had fun writing it. Please review and let me know what you thought! **

**I don't think his chapter is as good as the second one, but you might think differently, so stick around :)**

**Star x x x**


	2. Soothing the pain

**Thanks so much for your reviews, peeps! Really appreciate 'em.**

**Disclaimer: Rylor is MINE! What? Disney didn't do it! (hehe)**

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As soon as Ryan walked through the school doors on Monday, two weeks later, he saw a scene going on in the corridor.

It was only Troy and Taylor, but some people were eavesdropping, while others laughed and chatted, getting on with their daily routines. Ryan stopped in his tracks, watching.

"I don't believe they did this to us! I thought . . . I thought . . ." Taylor choked, and Troy held her hands in his own.

"Don't worry. We'll get through this." supported Troy and started to walk down the corridor.

"Troy?! Where are you going?" said Taylor in alarm, wiping a lone tear away from her cheek.

"I can't stand it. I can't – I _won't_ hang around with him everyday and pretend everything's normal." Troy said forcefully, and as he started to walk away again, Taylor's heart dropped as she realised what he was about to do.

"Troy NO!" she shrilled, her voice cutting through the air like icy knives. It carried right down to the end of the corridor, and most conversations stopped and the teenagers stared.

"Troy, if you leave the team, we're going to lose the championship!" she cried, and a gasp echoed all around them, but they barely heard it.

Ryan could hardly believe what he was hearing. Troy Bolton, leaving the basketball team? East High would be swept off the floor!

Ryan knew instantly what that would mean. the students of East High would be disappointed, his friends would be shocked, and his Dad would be absolutely furious.

"Please . . . please. Think for two seconds."

"Taylor . . . " Troy interrupted softly, and Taylor fell silent. "I'll make it right. It's okay."

He ignored all the onlookers and walked up to Taylor, planting a short, sweet and soft kiss on her forehead, and he walked down the corridor once again, only this time, he didn't come back. Not even when Taylor called his name in anguish.

Chaos. Everyone went _insane_.

Ryan's eyebrow flew right up as he watched the scene. '_When did __that__ happen?!_' he found himself thinking. '_I thought Troy was will Gabriella, and Taylor was with Chad . . ._'

Taylor completely broke down, weeping fiercely. As far as she was concerned, this was The End. Fin.

By now, everyone was bursting with curiosity and gossip, and pressed around her, wanting more, running down the corridor after Troy, mayhem.

Taylor wasn't listening to anyone.

She just sat there, feeling like the contents of her heart had spilled out onto the floor, and suddenly, someone had their hand on her elbow, powerfully steering her away from the crowd into an empty classroom, then blocking the door.

"Ryan," she whispered, "Please, just go. I don't want you to see me like this."

"Taylor," Ryan soothed, but Taylor cut him off.

"No, it's okay. Whatever you heard, forget it. I'm fine." and stormed out of the classroom before Ryan could follow.

**…HSM…**

"Somebody explain." came a stern voice, and the small group swivelled round to face the auditorium door.

"Ryan!" said Kelsi, with a small smile.

"Explain what?" frowned Sharpay. "What's up with you?"

"I want to know what's up with Taylor and Troy, and why the whole schools going nuts about -"

Kelsi gasped and looked at him sharply. "No. Leave it Ryan. Some things are better left alone."

Ryan dumped his things in a nearby chair in frustration. "No! I want to know what's going on!"

Sharpay sighed, looking at him wearily. "It's been news for a while. Three days after we left for Barvarde, on Monday, it was rumoured that Gabriella Montez was cheating on Troy -"

"- who wouldn't believe it. Obviously." Kelsi muttered. Sharpay nodded.

"But on Wednesday she was caught out. She was cheating on Troy -"

"- with Chad!" exclaimed Kelsi angrily. "Of all people! Her best friend's boyfriend! And her boyfriend's best friend!"

Sharpay stared at the ground. "Yeah, it looked real bad. Troy was raging, Taylor was distressed, and while all that was going on, Chad and Gabriella continued to see each other."

"What?" Ryan said in disbelief. "Didn't they care . . . ?"

Sharpay shrugged. "Apparently, Taylor fell into this faze. Started smoking, drinking, skipping school, anything that would dull the pain."

"How do you know this?"

"People have _seen_ her. She's not hell-bent on keeping it quiet."

Ryan closed his eyes. How could he have been so stupid?

When Troy was sitting in the Auditorium on his own . . .

When Gabriella said, "Oh. Him." after Chad asked Gabriella about Troy . . .

When Chad and Gabriella where both 'hanging around' in the Science block when they should've been in class . . .

"I'd better find her . . ." Ryan decided.

"Good luck then." Sharpay hesitated. "If you see her . . . tell her to stop playing up. You know, not skipping class, missing meals, fix up."

"Why do you say that?" Ryan frowned.

"It's the Principal." Sharpay said, almost worriedly. "If she keeps doing this . . . he's gonna get her parents involved."

**…HSM…**

"Why are you doing this to yourself?"

Taylor looked up, and then back down again. Ryan was leaning against the doorframe, his face expressionless.

"S'not a big deal."

"Oh yeah?" Ryan sat down across from her. "The principal -"

"Is an ass. He can't tell me what to do." Taylor sneered, so unlike her.

"Taylor, I know you're hurting. Real bad. Let me help you!"

"I don't want or need help." Taylor stood up. "I respect you, Ryan. But if you start acting like everyone else trying to control my life, I won't talk to you anymore."

"Yes you will."

"No I won't."

"You will."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you're not a good actor." Taylor struggled not to giggle, and Ryan's heart soared, knowing he'd gotten through to her at last.

Taylor looked up and met Ryan's piercing eyes, and she became so uncomfortable that she looked down again. "This conversation is pointless."

"Then let's talk about something else." said Ryan simply. He was so sly and witty with his replies, and he knew exactly what to say.

Taylor gave this big sigh. "Don't you ever feel your life was like a movie?"

"I . . . don't know." said Ryan slowly.

"I do. I thought it had reached the end when I'd got together with Chad, like a happy ending. But then . . ."

Taylor mumbled her way into silence. Ryan bit his lip thoughtfully.

"Well, it's still the end. It doesn't have to carry on."

"I don't follow." frowned Taylor.

"Think about it! There's a story; the beginning, the middle-climax bit, then the happy ending. Then, in the sequel -"

"It happens all over again . . ." said Taylor in realisation, Ryan nodded, grinning.

"So, The Life Of Taylor McKessie has ended. The sequel, The Life Of Taylor McKessie 2, has just started."

"Eww." snorted Taylor. "That sounds crap. If that was a movie, I wouldn't watch it!" They both laughed, clutching at their stomachs.

**(A.N. That bit is dedicated to **xxxPrincessJololaxxx**, because that is EXACTLY the sort of thing she would say!)**

"Okay." Ryan breathed, regaining breath. "The Life Of Tay Kess."

"I don't know whether that's better or worse . . . !" spluttered Taylor, then she stopped abruptly. "Hey! Did you pass your Barvarde Course?"

"No."

Taylor breathed in sharply. "Oh Ryan! Why?"

"The Instructor said I was talented, and I had a lot of potential . . . but I kept screwing up because I was distracted."

"What were you thinking of?" teased Taylor, but Ryan refused to answer, no matter how hard she playfully begged, grinning.

"I'd better go." sighed Taylor, heading for the door. She paused, hesitating. Then she ran back to him and gave him a hug.

"Thanks for making me feel better." she whispered, before exiting.

Ryan didn't know how long he sat there, staring at the door, but it was only when a Science teacher came in and asked why he was in the Lab on his own, that he realised he was late for class.

Again.

This had better not become a habit.

**…HSM…**

The long day was over at last, and Ryan just wanted to get home. walking briskly out of the school, he spotted a lone figure.

"Troy? You okay?"

Troy shrugged. "Never better, my friend." He peered at Ryan. "But _you_ sure look troubled."

"Girl troubles. You wouldn't understand."

"Hello?" Troy stuttered in disbelief. "My girlfriend ran off with my best friend. That's about as troubling as it gets; no one expected _that_ to happen!"

"What to you suggest?" sighed Ryan.

Troy grinned, and waved his wallet in Ryan's face.

"Let's go get pizza."

**…HSM…**

Troy was leaning back, contentedly, finishing off the pizza and Ryan was staring out of the window. It was a calm atmosphere; Pete's Pizza wasn't that full. Pete Perlotti drifted by, giving them free drink refills now and then.

"I come here almost every day." said Troy suddenly. Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. It's a great way of filling the emptiness; dough and coke. I'm using my Dad's money, so he'll probably be broke soon, but what the heck. _And_ I'm getting fat."

Ryan couldn't help it. He started to laugh manically.

"So, you feel better?" Troy asked hopefully. Ryan sighed, and nodded.

"Good. You and Taylor will be an item in no time."

"Troy! That's not the point of what I was saying!" Ryan moaned, but Troy wasn't even listening.

He searched for a number on his phone and pressed dial, waiting for the person to pick up. Ryan made small talk while Troy was waiting.

"So . . . did you resign from the Basketball team?"

"No, I just felt that there was no point giving up everything for – Oh hey!" Troy said suddenly, putting a finger to his lips as he talked on the phone.

"Could you go to the Science Block tomorrow at Lunch Break, and wait in the room that Mrs Gretel teaches in? Ryan wants to tell you something."

Ryan waited with eyes wide till Troy had hung up. "Who was that?"

"Taylor. So make sure you go to the Science Block tomorrow Lunch Break tomorrow."

And before Ryan could thank or scold him, he was gone.

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**There you go. Like? Love? Dislike? Hate? Review and let me know! **

**I feel really sorry for Troy. I can't help it! It's just sad, and he was sweet to Ryan. Ah well. Chapter Three will be up in a day or two, I think.**

**Star x x x**


	3. Ending the movie

**Sadly, this is the last chapter of Like A Movie, but I _really_ enjoyed writing this. Wow, I love Rylor now! Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Well . . . you know the drill . . .**

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Taylor entered the classroom, caught sight of Ryan, and glared at him.

"Sorry I'm late," she said sarcastically, "But I was too busy going out of my mind with wondering whether to come or not!" Dumping her stuff, Ryan cleared his throat to speak, but she carried on,

"You've caused me so much trouble! Why did you have to come into my life? I've been a wreck!"

Ryan's mouth froze. He lost his courage to say whatever was in his head, which had disappeared the moment he had seen her angry.

His initial response was to comfort her, but then he realised his crush was angry at _him_. Great. Why did Troy have to be such a nuisance?

"Ever since I met you, I was like, 'Wow, he's got gorgeous eyes!' And I opened my mouth to tell my sister and all this rubbish comes out, 'Ryan Evans this, Ryan Evans that,' and now she think I'm obsessed."

Ryan frowned, utterly confused.

"Which I probably am anyway. What sort of freak goes through half the school just to call you while you were at Barvarde, then chickens out when she finally gets it? How sad. As in desperately sad."

"Taylor . . . ?" Ryan said slowly, standing up.

She looked stressed, like she'd been up all night worrying or something. '_About me?_' Ryan thought in shock. '_Did I do this to her?_'

"So thanks, Ryan. Sometimes I think I'm going insane, and I almost hate to love you, because I do. We'll probably never talk again after this, but now you know. I'm leaving now."

"Taylor . . ." Ryan murmured, touching her arm. She sharply moved back.

"No, don't do this to me. Don't make fun of me. I'm pretty stupid for a Brainiac, I know I am, for dreaming of what could have been. That's what Gabriella did, and look where it got her. Argh, I'm such an idiot. Goddammit!"

Taylor took a deep shuddering breath, her voice hoarse. She couldn't look at his face, because then she'd see the eyes that had been haunting her all night.

Suddenly, she felt weak, like all the life had been sucked out of her. She took a shaky step towards Ryan, who at once wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"You are so nuts." he chuckled, and without saying anything else, he pressed his lips against hers. She placed her hands on his neck, and together they swayed, cherishing every second of the magical moment they had left.

Taylor pulled away, holding his face in her hands so she could look at his eyes again. She smiled. They really were gorgeous.

"I forgot to tell you," said Ryan huskily, "My Instructor called me last night. They're going to let me do the course at Barvarde again!"

"Ryan . . . that's _great_!" Taylor whispered excitedly, their heads close together.

"Sharpay wants me to go and practice in the Auditorium. She passed the first time, of course."

"I agree." Taylor said as seriously as she could, although she was laughing a little. "Practise as much as you can." Ryan made a face, and softly kissed Taylor one more time before heading to the door. "Ryan?" Taylor called, and Ryan looked back.

"Are you going to tell me now?" Taylor raised her eyebrows. "Why were you distracted during your course?"

Ryan looked sheepish for a moment, then he pulled himself together and grinned. "Why else? I was thinking of you." He winked and left, and Taylor couldn't help but give this really dreamy sigh after he'd left.

It wasn't like her, and made her sound really stupid, but she just felt like everything was just . . . perfect.

The Life Of Tay Kess 2 was ending, and it was even better than The Life Of Tay Kess 1!

She'd barely gotton an ounce of sleep last night, but she knew that tonight . . . she sighed again. "I have to stop doing that . . ." she muttered to herself.

And she still couldn't believe what had just happened as she drifted out of the classroom to hear a voice;

"Don't do it, Taylor."

Taylor swivelled to see Chad leaning against the wall. He took a step towards her, and said quietly, "It's not too late to back out."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You can't date Ryan Evans. Are you crazy?" At that remark, a puzzle piece fell into place in Taylor's head, and her jaw slowly fell open in realisation.

"You were _spying_ on me?" she whispered.

"I only did it because I care."

"But you were _spying_ on me!" she exclaimed angrily. "Eavesdropping in on my private life, interfering with the clean slate I've made for myself. How dare you?! How _could_ you?!"

"Ryan is a Drama geek!" said Chad heatedly, grabbing Taylor's shoulders.

"That's okay, I'm a geek too." She sneered, almost light-heartedly. She was deliberately winding him up.

"Taylor!" he shouted, now shaking her. "You can do so much better than _him_!"

She broke away in anguish. "You can't get much better than Ryan Evans!" she cried, and sprinted down the corridor as fast as she could before he caught her.

Disappearing round the corner, she breathed heavily, closing her eyes.

When she had broken up with Chad, a part of her still loved him. Not anymore. What a _moron_.

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist, and a cheerful voice murmured into her ear, "Taylor Mckessie, you are something else."

"Ryan?" said Taylor in disbelief, and Ryan started to chuckle.

He'd heard what she said! Wow. That's slightly embarrassing.

Flushing, Taylor nudged him sharply in the ribs. "You were eavesdropping! You should be in the auditorium!" she said, and Ryan cracked up even more.

"You're as bad as Chad," she scolded, and that made him exclaim.

"That's not fair. You can't compare me to him!" he whined, and then breathed a sigh of contentment. "Let's get outta here."

**…HSM…**

Gabriella saw her by at her locker, and thought, '_Do it now, otherwise you might not get another chance_.' So she braced herself for whatever Taylor might or might not say, and walked up to her.

Gabriella cleared her throat, and as Taylor turned around, she expected a look of pure loathing, but it was strangely light and optimistic.

"Can we talk?" said Gabriella hesitantly.

"We _are_ talking," laughed Taylor.

"No, I mean, I want to properly tell you how . . . how sorry I am. Seriously Tay. I really like Chad, I do, but I don't think that all of this was worth destroying you and Troy the way it did."

"Then . . . why did you let it happen?" said Taylor softly.

"Look . . . believe me. We were going to tell you, but when we met to work out the best way to . . . confess, someone came and -"

"Gabs . . ." Taylor cut through Gabriella gently, but Gabriella was insistent on finishing.

"No, let me finish. It was the biggest and probably the worst mistake I've made in my life, and -"

"I forgive you." said Taylor simply, and Gabriella rambled.

"- I know I can never – what?"

"I forgive you . . ." Taylor repeated, shrugging. "I was hurt really bad and for a while I hated you for it, but what you did opened my eyes. In fact, you did me a huge favour . . ."

"But . . . really?" said Gabriella anxiously, unsure of how to react.

"Yup. I've found someone way better than Chad. And . . . I'm really happy now. Much happier than before, I think."

"Really? So . . . who did you find?"

"Okay well . . . you know Ryan Evans?" Taylor began, and Gabriella gasped.

"Everyone knows Ryan! Oh Tay, I'm so happy for you!" she squealed, and for the first time in a long time, they hugged each other tightly, the close friendship bond repaired again.

"I need to go and find Troy." Gabriella sighed miserably. "I owe him. Badly."

"You'll do fine." Taylor insisted, nodding, and Gabriella nodded back, walking away. "Wait!" Taylor called, making Gabriella stop in her tracks.

"Are you still dating Chad?"

"After all the damage we've caused? No way." snorted Gabriella. "And anyway . . . he still had feelings for you."

**…HSM…**

"Word is, you're dating Ryan Evans." Troy smiled, and Taylor beamed back.

"Then the 'word' is correct." They laughed, and Troy put a hand on her shoulder.

"That's great, Taylor. Honestly."

Taylor could clearly see he was happy for her too, but she could also see all the pain he was keeping inside, the hurt he had buried. She realised that she had gotten over Chad, and found another person to love and confide in. What about Troy?

"You spoken to Gabriella?" she said quietly.

"Yep."

"And . . . ?"

"And nothing. We're starting over, that's all. Fresh leaf. New slate. Back to the beginning." Troy looked away arkwardly.

Taylor nodded. "Good. Look, I've gotta go, but I'll catch you later, okay?" With that, Taylor practically sprinted to find Ryan.

She had an idea.

**…HSM…**

"You're a genius, Taylor! This is gonna work!" exclaimed Ryan, hugging her so that her feet lifted off the ground.

"Careful!" Taylor laughed. "So, Troy will be here soon. You invite him in, and take him up to Sharpay's room, where we'll lock him in."

"With Sharpay," Ryan added, and the pair chuckled as the doorbell rang. "He's here!" they hissed in unison.

**…HSM…**

Two hours later.

Ryan and Taylor unlocked the bedroom door to see Troy and Sharpay spring apart quite guiltily.

"See? It worked!" Taylor muttered to Ryan, not quietly enough.

"It worked?" said Troy indignantly.

"You set us up?" Sharpay pouted, raising an eyebrow.

"For your own good." insisted Taylor. "And anyway . . ." she imitated Sharpay, "You two look totally cute together!"

The teenagers laughed, the last to laugh being Sharpay, because she was trying to pretend that Taylor's impression of her was unamusing.

"Let's go downstairs and watch a movie or something." Ryan shrugged, and Sharpay said she get some goodies from the kitchen, so Ryan, Taylor and Troy were fixing cushions and stuff in the living room.

"Hey, you guys . . ." Troy said quickly, checking if Sharpay was coming back. "I just want to say thanks for everything. I owe you!"

"No you don't," snorted Ryan, "I owed _you_ one, for hooking me up with _this_ sweet little thing," and he pulled Taylor towards him playfully.

"I'm not a thing!" Taylor said indignantly, and Troy sniggered with Ryan. "He's right though," she added to Troy. "We owed _you_. Now we're even."

Troy smiled, a look of pure happiness on his face, and then went to find Sharpay.

Taylor sighed, and leaned against Ryan, who was lying on the couch. "You think it's time for the credits of 'The Life Of Tay Kess' yet?"

"I dunno. The audience still doesn't know what happens to Chad-The-Villain." Ryan lightly poked Taylor as he spoke.

"So . . . it's not over yet?"

Ryan thought for a moment. "No . . . it's over." he stood up, and Taylor followed suit, leaned against him. "The third movie has just started."

Taylor laughed. "A _third_ movie? Ryan, we are so nuts." Ryan laughed with her, and they just stood there, drinking in the silence . . .

. . . and wondering where on earth Troy and Sharpay had got to.

**

* * *

**

**LOL, that was funny. What did you guys think? Lemme know. Maybe I'll write more Rylors in the future :) **

**And if you want to try the Rylor challenge, go to my author page, click on where it says Forums, Game, Quests and Challenges. You'll find it. XD - Thanks for reading!**

**Star x x x**


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